In 2021, bark beetle damage in Bavaria's state forests fell to its lowest level in six years.
The company processed 710,000 cubic meters of so-called damaged wood last year, more than a third less than in 2020 and less than half as much as in 2019. The state forests announced this on Sunday in Regensburg.
Bark beetles mainly infest spruce, which is still the most important economic tree in Germany.
In 2019 and 2020, the insects caused a great deal of damage throughout Central Europe, favored by drought.
In 2021, at least in Bavaria, there was no talk of drought.
"Comparatively cool and wet weather meant that the development of the bark beetle was slowed down and the spruce's resistance was strengthened," said a state forest spokesman.
"In addition, there is the continuous and rapid processing of the damage." Since dead trees offer the insects good breeding conditions, the forest workers have been in constant use in recent years to remove infested trees.
With their forests spread all over Bavaria, the state forests are the largest German forest enterprise.
The situation is therefore not equally favorable for foresters and forest owners everywhere.
In central and southern Bavaria, the damage caused by the bark beetle is therefore far below that of previous years.
The Franconian Forest, on the other hand, remains a problem, according to state forests, due to the irregular distribution of precipitation, warmer temperatures and the large number of beetles that are already present.
The state forests are optimistic for 2022, provided the weather cooperates - which means for the foresters that it must not be too warm and dry.